I am very interested in the game, mostly for solo, but I will probably not be able to purchase both the game and expansion at the same time. Do I need the expansion to be able to play solo at all? I only ask because BGG page says it is playable 1-4.

I am very interested in the game, mostly for solo, but I will probably not be able to purchase both the game and expansion at the same time. Do I need the expansion to be able to play solo at all? I only ask because BGG page says it is playable 1-4.

Thanks!

Sure. Just play both sides like most war games.

Check the files section here and you can download chits to implement the spent check system from the solo as well.

I find that playing games "solo", whether this one or other wargames or games in general really depends on the person and the game itself. Any games that rely on hidden movement or information are going to be hard to play by yourself. Ones own mindset to approach a game solo and try to play both or all sides equal is key.That being said:I have this game and do not yet own the solo expansion and I can tell you that my own personal experience is that it can be played solo to a certain degree. I mostly played solo starting out learning this system and getting the rules and mechanics down. It was new and fresh and I felt like I still was getting some historical flavor and perspective out of it, as well as beginning to learn about squad level tactics. But once I got further into the scenarios, I started playing almost exclusively against someone. I do pull out a scenario from time to time if I liked it against an opponent and want to find some nuances or better tactics to go for, but mostly I want to play a live opponent(that is just me and my feeling on this particular game)

Try both sides as best you can. Scenarios that have hidden units may be an issue. The cards can give variance and replay ability, and if you know a little about this game there is a optional rule for variable Action Point allocation that also can give a little bit of nuance to a solo game, so the scenarios should play at least a little different each time, whether solo or against other people.

So here is my own personal advice and my own honest humble opinion:Get ATB 2nd edition and play a few solo scenarios to learn the rules and mechanics. Try to get some others into playing it if at all possible, and maybe buy the solo expansion a little bit down the road.

Without owning the solo, I do not want to short change its reputation or say you shouldn't get it at all. Everything I have heard or seen about it is that it is a very good solo AI system.

This has been removed from the updated rules, but here are the old solo rules from the first version of the rules:

20.2 Solitaire PlayThe following rules are a guideline on how a solo player playsopposing (AI - Artificial Intelligence) units. The solo player shouldalways play the attacking force. The solo player still takes actions forthe opposition forces, but is constrained by the AI doctrines describedbelow. When solitaire firefights are played with two players, normalrules supersede these Solitaire Rules.

Initiative - At the beginning of each round roll 1D6. The oppositionwins initiative on 1, 2, 3, or 4, the player wins on 5 or 6.

ActivationAn AI unit will only activate if it has an enemy unit in its LOS.

Movement Doctrine- AI units are more likely to pull back towards their game objectivesthan to advance away from them.- AI units will not attempt to move into an enemy occupied hex, unlessit is one of their objective hexes. If the solo player thinks that the AIunits need to attack a hex anyway, he rolls 1D6. Only if a “1, 2, 3, or4” is rolled will the AI unit complete the move.

Pivoting - An AI unit will pivot towards a threat that is outside of itsarc of fire (AoF) in the following order of importance:- If the enemy unit is in an adjacent hex.- If fired upon and there is no closer threat within LOS.- If a threat is in range that would require a 9 or less to hit and there isno closer threat in LOS.

Fire Doctrine- AI units will only fire at enemy units that are in normal range and thatcan be hit on an unmodified 2D6 roll of 10 or less.- AI units will fire at the enemy unit that is the easiest to hit.

CAP Usage - Give the AI opposition 20% more CAPs than listedin the firefight setup, rounding up. The preferred use of CAPs is tomodify an AI unit’s attack value (AV). The number of CAPs spent tomodify an AI unit’s AV is determined by the result of a 1D6 roll.- On a 1 or 2, the AI unit’s attack is modified by 2 CAPs.- On a 3 or 4, the AI unit’s attack is modified by 1 CAP.- On a 5 or 6, the AI unit does not modify the attack dice roll.The AI will use as many CAPs as it has left in order to fulfill therequirements above.

Ex: An AI Soviet Rifle has a clear LOS to a normal movingGerman Rifle. The Soviet AI Rifle will fire because it only needs an8 to hit (3AV vs a 12DR - 1 normal move penalty). The Soviet AI has1CAP left on its CAPs track and so rolls a 1D6 to see if the AI Rifle’sattack will be modified with CAPs. The AI rolls a 1 for its attack dice rollmodifier check and will modify the attack with its remaining 1CAP, sincethat is all the remaining CAPs left. The AI now needs a 7 dice roll to hitthe German unit (3FP +1CAP = 4AV vs an 11DV).

AI Soviet units may fire into enemy hexes, even if that hex containsother Soviet units.

Augment APs with CAPs to Fire Again -If an AI unit can hit a target on an unmodified 2D6 roll of 9 or less, itwill use up to one CAP, if needed, to augment its APs to fire again.

Ex: An activated AI unit’s cost to fire is 4APs, but it has only 3APsremaining. The AI will add 1 CAP in order to fire again.Ex: The activated AI unit’s cost to fire is 4APs, but it has only 2APs remaining. It will not fire again.

Rallying - A hit AI unit will always rally before firing, unless an enemyunit can be attacked and hit on an unmodified 2D6 roll of 8 or less.

Common Sense - Unforeseen situations may arise and the soloplayer should react with the AI units in a way that is in the AI unit'sbest interest. This means that some of the doctrines above may bemodified or broken in certain situations. When playing solitaire, it isrecommended that you use the Variable APs optional rule (3.0.1).

20.3 Hidden AI Units for Solitaire Play

For each hidden AI unit called for in a firefight, mark two hexes thatare likely hiding spots on the map with pennies. Place the hidden AIunit counter in a cup, along with a dummy counter (any counter notbeing used in the game). When a hidden AI unit position is activated(as dictated by the firefight), the player pulls a counter randomly fromthe cup to see if a AI unit is actually there. If the counter pulled is adummy counter, the spot was a decoy and the dummy counter andpenny are discarded and play continues.

Ex: Two AI units may be hidden at the beginning of a game. Theplayer chooses and marks 4 hexes with pennies and places the twoAI units and two dummy (misc.) counters into a cup.